Collins Cobuild English Grammar (150 page)

Always report such behaviour to the nearest person in authority, whether it
be
a school teacher or a policeman, or anyone else.

When the verb in a
whether
-clause is
be
and the subject is a personal pronoun such as
they
or
it
, you can omit
be
and the pronoun. For example, instead of saying
All the villagers, whether they are young or old, help with the harvest
, you can say
All the villagers, whether young or old, help with the harvest
.

A fresh pepper,
whether
red
or
green, lasts about three weeks.
They help people,
whether
tourists
or
students, to learn more of our past.

8.42
     When you want to say that something is the case and that it does not matter which person, place, cause, method, or thing is involved, you use
whoever
,
wherever
,
however
,
whatever
, or
whichever
.

Whoever
wins this civil war, there will be little rejoicing at the victory.
Wherever
it is, you aren’t going.
However
it began, the battle would always develop into a large-scale conflict.

Whatever
and
whichever
are used either as determiners or pronouns.

Whatever
car you drive, keep fixing it and keep it forever.
The deficit is extremely important this year,
whatever
they say.
Whichever
way you do it, it’s hard work.
Whichever
you decide, I’m sure it will be just fine.

Another way of saying that it does not matter who or what is involved is to use
no matter
followed by
who
,
where
,
how
,
what
, or
which
.

Most people,
no matter who
they are, seem to have at least one.
Our aim is to recruit the best person for the job,
no matter where
they are from.
No matter how
I’m playing, I always get that special feeling.

Purpose clauses:
He did it
in order to make her happy

8.43
     When you want to talk about the purpose of an action, you use a
purpose clause
.

Here is a list of the most common conjunctions used in purpose clauses:

in order that

in order to

so

so as to

so that

to

types of purpose clause

8.44
     There are two kinds of purpose clause.

Clauses containing a
to
-infinitive are the most common.

They had to take some of his land
in order to extend the churchyard
.
Farmers have put up barricades
to prevent people moving on to their land
.

The subject of this type of purpose clause is always the same as the subject of the main clause.

This type of purpose clause is explained in paragraphs
8.45
to
8.46
.

Other purpose clauses usually contain
that
.

Be as clear and factual as possible
in order that there may be no misunderstanding
.

This type of purpose clause is explained in paragraphs
8.47
to
8.48
.

to
-infinitive clauses

8.45
     
To
-infinitive purpose clauses usually begin with
in order to
or
so as to
.

They were pushing
in order to
get to the front.
We had to borrow money
in order to
buy the house.
We fixed up a screen
so as to
let in the fresh air and keep out the flies.

If you want to make one of these clauses negative, you put
not
in front of the
to
.

Rose trod with care
in order not to
spread the dirt.
When removing a stain, work from the edge inwards
so as not to
enlarge the area affected.

8.46
     Some purpose clauses can simply be
to
-infinitive clauses.

People would stroll down the path
to
admire the garden.
The children sleep together
to
keep warm.
To
understand what is happening now, we need to think about what has been achieved.

However, you cannot use a negative with one of these structures. You cannot say, for example,
We keep the window shut not to let the flies in
. You would have to say,
We keep the window shut in order not to let the flies in
.

that
-clauses

8.47
     Other purpose clauses usually begin with
in order that
,
so that
, or
so
. They usually contain a
modal
.

If the verb in the main clause is in the
present
or in the
present perfect
, you usually use one of the modals
can
,
may
,
will
, or
shall
in the purpose clause.

…people who are learning English
in order that
they
can
study a particular subject.

If the verb in the main clause is in the
past
, you usually use
could
,
might
,
should
, or
would
in the purpose clause.

A stranger had lifted Philip up on his shoulder
so that
he
could
see better.
I bought six cows
so that
we
would
have some milk to sell.
She wanted the meal ready at six
so
she
could
go out at eight.

Ordinary verbs are occasionally used instead of modals, especially in negative purpose clauses.

Make sure you get plenty of rest,
so that
you
don’t fall
asleep at work.

So that
is also used in
result clauses
. This use is explained in paragraphs
8.55
and
8.56
.

8.48
     In formal or old-fashioned English,
lest
is sometimes used at the beginning of a purpose clause to say what an action is intended to prevent.

For example,
They built a statue of him lest people should forget what he had done
means the same as
They built a statue of him so that people would not forget what he had done
.

He spoke in whispers
lest
the servants should hear him.

In clauses beginning with
lest
, you use either the
subjunctive
or a
modal
.

Reason clauses:
… because I wanted to win

8.49
     When you want to give the reason for something, you use a
reason clause
.

Here is a list of the main conjunctions used in reason clauses:

as

because

in case

just in case

since

8.50
     If you are simply giving the reason for something, you use
because
,
since
, or
as
.

I couldn’t be angry with him
because
I liked him too much.
I didn’t know that she was married,
since
she rarely talked about herself.
As
we had plenty of time, we decided to go for a coffee.

8.51
     You use
in case
or
just in case
when you are mentioning a possible future situation which is someone’s reason for doing something. In the reason clause, you use the
present simple
.

Mr Woods, I am here
just in case
anything out of the ordinary
happens
.

When you are talking about someone’s reason for doing something in the past, you use the
past simple
in the reason clause.

He did not sit down
in case
his trousers
got creased
.

8.52
     
In that
,
inasmuch as
,
insofar as
, and
to the extent that
are used to say why a statement you have just made is true. These are formal expressions.

I’m in a difficult situation
in that
I have been offered two jobs and they both sound interesting.
Censorship is ineffective
inasmuch as
it does not protect anyone.
We are traditional
insofar as
we write traditional-style songs, but we try and write about modern issues.
He feels himself to be dependent
to the extent that
he is not free to make his own decisions.

Inasmuch as
is sometimes written as
In as much as
, and
insofar as
is sometimes written as
in so far as
.

8.53
     People sometimes use reason clauses beginning with
for
or
seeing that
.
For
means the same as
because
. Its use in reason clauses is now considered to be old-fashioned.

I hesitate,
for
I am not quite sure of my facts.

    
Seeing that
means the same as
since
. It is used only in informal speech.

Seeing that
you’re the guest on this little trip, I won’t tell you what I think of your behaviour last night.